A culinary online center dedicated to promoting the importance and the joy of American home cooking with an emphasis on local products and talent, celebrating the unique spirit and energy of the new food world ethos, especially in Vermont.

amuse bouche

I love quotes that add meaning to my life. Here are a few to live by:

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.â€”The Dalai Lama

Rhubarb is a metaphor for finding happiness in your own backyard.â€”Garrison Keillor

Buy your snacks from a farmersâ€™ market.â€”Michael Pollan

Even when he had a garden in Paris, Thomas Jefferson cultivated Indian corn, â€śto eat green in our manner, â€¦as quickly after it left the stalk as possible.â€”Evan Jones, from American Food

Flashy New South End City Market

Before even moving to Vermont, I knew about City Market.Â It says a lot about the culture of Vermont that one of – if not THE – most rural state in the country happens to be home to the largest food co-op.Â That’s right: City Market is the largest food co-op in the United States!Â And, my friends, it just got BIGGER.Â They opened their new South End location in November of last year.

Frankly, I’m fascinated with the history of cooperatives.Â City Market, like many co-ops, began as a food-buying club.Â Their transition to become the prominent downtown grocery store was not an easy decision, for both the owners and the city.Â There was internal pressure from those who thought they would lose sight of their values and become too mainstream.Â Externally, critics proclaimed it would be too “elitist” to serve the greater Burlington community.Â In the end, City Market was voted over Shaw’s, a regional conventional grocery store.